January 26, 2011

Russian agriculture minister projects 85-87 million tonnes of grain harvest

Russia's grain crop  in 2011 may possibly reach 87 million tonnes under positive weather conditions, according to the deputy agriculture minister Sergei Korolyov.

"Winter grains have survived on 14 million hectares, winter kill losses were 1.5 million hectares. With yields of 3 tonnes per hectare, we will have 42 million tonnes (harvest)," he said on Tuesday (Jan 25). He claimed that only around a tenth of winter crops killed by weather so far.

"We will have to sow 30 million hectares with spring grains compared to 28 million hectares last year, and with average yields of 1.5 tonnes per hectare, we will have 45 million tonnes of spring grains. So ... we will 85-87 million tonnes of grain under favourable conditions," he added.